


Hole in the Wall

by danehemmings



Category: Naruto
Genre: Itachi has a terminal illness, M/M, Sakura makes a cameo but she's not really in the story, also Kiba and Naruto are roomies, crack and just a dash of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 11:32:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16554971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danehemmings/pseuds/danehemmings
Summary: Sasuke's new apartment seems great, until he throws his alarm clock straight through the wall.





	Hole in the Wall

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this over a year ago and I discovered it again today. I had it saved as 'Got the hots for your neighbor, BOII?'. I don't really know what that says about me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this fic that was supposed to be crack but then sort of isn't.

Sasuke drops his very last box on the floor of his new apartment. It lands with a soft thud onto the old hardwood floor and a cloud of dust rises up. Itachi, who’d followed him inside, coughs so severely that he has to sit down on the musty couch.

The apartment is new to Sasuke, anyways, and much more preferable than living underneath his father’s disapproving nose. The building is on the outskirts of Konoha, next to an abandoned factory. It’s ancient and decrepit and everything in it smells faintly of wet wood. But the price was more than affordable, and his father would never be caught dead on this side of the city.

Itachi finally recovers from his coughing fit, and Sasuke helps him to stand.

“You’re sure you want to live here?” his brother asks for the fiftieth time.

“Yes, Itachi.”

“Have you seen your neighbors, Sasuke? That guy we passed on the way up didn’t seem friendly.” A bit of an understatement - the man had pulled a knife out and told them never to bother him.

Sasuke feels a kinship with those sorts of people, though, so he’s being honest when he says, “I thought he was alright.”

Itachi sighs, but doesn’t argue. He’s the one who encouraged Sasuke to get the hell out of their childhood home while he still could, for which Sasuke is eternally grateful. He owes Itachi a lot.

“Shall we start unpacking, then?” Itachi asks, dropping the subject of sketchy neighbors.

“No, you’ve done enough today. I’ll unpack later,” Sasuke responds. It’s a sign to how poorly Itachi’s doing that he doesn’t protest.

They march down the rickety stairs (Sasuke keeps a careful eye on his brother), and Sasuke drives them back towards Konoha’s center. He and Itachi stop at their great-aunt’s for dinner, which ends with Sasuke having enough food for a week. He drops Itachi off at his former home, not bothering to spare so much as a glance in its direction, and makes his way back to his shabby apartment.

~~

Sasuke wakes up to some shitty indie music blaring through the thin walls. He glares at the wall adjoining him and his neighbors. His clock reads 7:30am. Bastards. He throws the closest thing he can reach - his clock - at the wall. It goes straight through with a crash, and the moment it lands on his neighbor’s bright colored carpet, it starts blaring Call Me Maybe.

His neighbors - a tanned blonde guy and a brunette holding up a puppy - stare through the hole in the wall. Sasuke fumes. Carly Rae Jepsen asks them where you think you’re going baby?

The blonde guy suddenly bursts into giggles. The other lowers his dog sheepishly, and turns off the shit indie music. He hands Sasuke back his alarm clock. Sasuke takes it and shuts it off with a grimace. The blonde laughs on.

“I’m Kiba,” The brunette barks, “This is Akamaru”- he holds up the puppy again briefly- “And that’s Naruto. Nice to meet you neighbor!” A hand is extended through the hole in the wall.

Sasuke looks at Kiba’s hand with distaste, “Sasuke,” He introduces himself, shaking Kiba’s hand but making no effort to hide his disgust. “I don’t usually blast music at seven in the morning.”

Naruto, who’d just recovered, begins to laugh once again. “Uh,” Kiba scratches the back of his head, “Sorry. No one’s lived on this floor besides us for a few years. Guess we got used to the freedom.”

“Clearly,” Sasuke says shortly. “I’m going back to sleep now,” he turns away before Kiba can respond. 

Naruto keeps laughing despite Kiba’s scolding, and Sasuke lays wide awake for two hours before giving in and starting his day.

~~

When Sasuke returns to his apartment later that day, he hears no sign of Kiba or Naruto, and so deems it safe to go back into his bedroom. He peers through the hole at their shitshow of a living room. The carpet is bright orange with hot pink flowers. They have a huge tapestry hung up, which is full of vibrant blues that clash terribly with the carpet. Their couch and coffee table have matching horrendous patterns, and Sasuke is thankful not to be able to see the rest of their living space. He is about to nail a picture frame over the hole when Akamaru comes running and jumps into Sasuke’s lap. 

Sasuke hates dogs. He’s a cat person, his family are all cat people, and have been for centuries. He lifts up Akamaru and tries not to flinch when the puppy licks his face.

“Ugh,” Sasuke makes a face and pushes Akamaru back to his rightful side of the wall. The dog hops back through, and this time races pass Sasuke and out into the hall. “Fuck,” he scrambles to his feet and after Akamaru.

He chases the dog around for nearly an hour, and he can’t get his hands on it. He’s so, so close, but then Itachi calls him, and Akamaru scampers away again.

“What?” He says aggressively.

“Just checking in, little brother,” Itachi says with a hint of amusement. Sasuke is not amused.

“I’m doing fine, thanks,” He says, watching as Akamaru opens his snack cupboard. He snatches his cheetos from the stupid dog.

“Meet your neighbors yet?” Itachi asks. 

“Yes, they’re atrocious.” Sasuke puts all his food on top of the fridge, where Akamaru can’t reach. The dog still goes inside the cupboard. Sasuke shuts it and leans against it to trap the damn dog inside. He realizes Itachi had been talking. “What?”

Itachi heaves a sigh, as he usually seems to do around Sasuke, “I said, you shouldn’t judge people so quickly. Give them a chance, Sasuke.”

“Yeah, sure,” Sasuke says, suddenly needing the conversation to end. He doesn’t need another lecture.

“Are you listening to me?”

“I’m listening. I’ll give the neighbors a chance,” He hears Naruto calling for Akamaru. The dog scratches at the cupboard door. “I’ve got to go. Remember to take your medicine.”

“Already done. I’ll talk to you later.” Itachi hangs up and Sasuke is about to throw his phone when he remembers the fragile state of the walls. He places it on the counter instead. As he stands, Akamaru pokes his head out.

“Go on,” Sasuke urges the dog, “Your owner is looking for you.”

Akamaru stares up at him, then races out of the kitchen towards Naruto’s voice. Much to Sasuke’s dismay, Akamaru doesn’t go further than the musty couch. He settles down as if he means to stay, and growls when Sasuke steps too close.

Sasuke growls in response, and goes to the hole in the wall.

“Naruto!” He calls.

He hears the pounding of feet, and then Naruto sticks his head through the wall so he and Sasuke are nose to nose. Sasuke leans away and gives his fiercest glare. 

“Hey, Sasuke! Have you seen Akamaru?” Naruto says excitedly. He doesn’t seem fazed by Sasuke’s glare.

“He’s on my couch.” 

“Oh!” Naruto looks absolutely delighted, “Thank god! I thought I’d lost him, Kiba would’ve killed me!”

“You want to come and get him?” Sasuke won’t crack a smile, even as Naruto beams at him.

“That’s alright, I don’t mind if he’s over there with you! Kiba won’t either, so long as he stays inside.” Naruto removes his head from the hole, “Anyways, I’m making beef stew. You want some?”

He’s stuck with the dog? Sasuke heaves an angry sigh, “No, thank you.”

“Your loss,” Naruto shrugs, “But if you change your mind, let me know.”

~~

Living with the hole in the wall is a nightmare. He can’t afford to fix it, and Kiba and Naruto don’t seem to mind it in the slightest. They keep offering him dinner, or starting a conversation while he’s trying to sleep. Once, Sasuke wakes and sees Naruto’s head sticking out through the hole and blue eyes watching him. 

Akamaru doesn’t leave him alone, either. He follows Sasuke around during the day, leaving only when Kiba gets back from his stupid job (as a personal trainer, apparently).

Sasuke opens the door to his room with energy he hasn’t had since moving in. He’s remembered his picture frame, and he walks with purpose towards it, Akamaru trotting along behind him.

He positions the frame over the wall’s hole, and marks where he needs to place the nails. This is the key to keeping his sanity. A few taps of a hammer and his problem is fixed. Sasuke sits back to admire his work and allows himself to smile. He absentmindedly pats Akamaru, glad for that vacation to Suna his mother insisted on ten years ago. Who knew a picture taken in Suna could be so helpful?

A cracking sound makes the smile on his face falter. Warning given, the picture frame crashes to the floor, taking a good portion of the wall with it. Akamaru yips excitedly and licks Sasuke’s hand.

~~

“I’m living in hell.”

Itachi fakes a cough to hide his chuckle. Shisui, on the other hand, doubles over in laughter. It reminds Sasuke vaguely of Naruto, and he grimaces. He asked his brother to meet him in a cafe down the block from his old house, and the asshole had brought along his sleazy boyfriend.

“Have you tried talking to them, Sasuke?” Itachi asks, ignoring Shisui.

“You think Sasuke is the type of kid to talk things out?” Shisui snorts. 

Sasuke’s eye twitches, “I’ve made it pretty clear I don’t want to share an apartment with those idiots.”

“I bet,” Shisui nods vigorously. Itachi gives him a sidelong glance. 

“Try being polite, little brother.”

Sasuke wants to be petulant and say no, but he won’t sink to that whilst Shisui is shaking with mirth. He takes a sip of his coffee to stall for time.

“Sure thing, big bro,” He mutters. Itachi, sensing the sarcasm, sighs.

Shisui, a knight in shining armor in his own eyes but an old pedophile in Sasuke’s eyes, says, “You’re going to regret not listening to your brother. How much longer will he be around to give you such good advice?”

“Shut up,” Sasuke snaps.

Itachi places his hand on Shisui’s arm, “Just think about it, Sasuke? People can be reasonable if you give them a chance.”

When Sasuke arrives home later, he’s not in the mood to deal with Akamaru’s greeting licks, and so he picks the pup up and throws him through the gap in the wall.

Naruto, who's sitting on his ugly couch wearing equally ugly flowing pants and no shirt, calls, “Bad day?”

“Nope,” Sasuke answers, falling heavily onto his bed. He hears Naruto cooing at Akamaru.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Obviously not.”

Naruto pokes his head through the wall, “We don’t have to talk, but you should know it’s unhealthy to keep things locked up like that.”

“Thanks so much,” Sasuke deadpans. He lifts his head up so Naruto can watch him rolls his eyes.

The blonde’s brow furrows, “This isn’t ideal for us, either, ya know.” He gestures to the broken wall. Sasuke drops his head and glowers at the ceiling.

“You’re not a nice person to live with,” Naruto continues, “All you do is complain, and mope around-”

“Then stop coming in here,” Sasuke grumbles. Naruto, who’d crawled into his bedroom, winces.

“I wanna be friendly, even to a guy like you.”

“Well, don’t be.”

“Man, you’re cold.” Naruto has the audacity to sit on the edge of the bed beside Sasuke. Akamaru hops into his lap and Naruto scratches his ear absently.

“Sasuke, if you’d smile, even just once a day, you’d be so much happier!” 

Sasuke feels the furthest from smiling he’s felt his whole life. He sits up and puts his hands on Naruto’s shoulders, intending to push the idiot back through the hole. But, when he meets Naruto’s stupid blue eyes, Sasuke just kind of freezes. Like an idiot. He didn’t except Naruto to feel so warm or soft.

Naruto doesn’t make fun of him, doesn’t comment on how fucking weird it is that Sasuke is frozen his his hands on his shoulders, or how Sasuke is staring at his abs and not his face.

“Look at me, smiling all the time!” Naruto smiles wider than should be humanly possible, and Sasuke grimances. It’s a little creepy, how smiley Naruto is, but it’s probably a little creepy that Sasuke is holding onto his neighbor’s shoulders.

“I’m happy because I smile,” Naruto continues, and he shrugs one shoulder upwards and tilts his head so that he brushes Sasuke’s hand with his ear. He nuzzles it like Akamaru would. After that, it’s easy to pull his hands back to himself. 

“I’m closer to vomiting,” Sasuke tells Naruto.

“Aw,” Naruto seems genuinely upset that Sasuke didn’t take his advice to heart. “Okay then, Sasuke. I’ll leave you alone.”

Naruto gently places Akamaru back inside his apartment, and this time his smile is softer, and maybe a bit sad. Sasuke waits for Naruto to follow the pup, but he doesn’t move.

“Goodbye,” Sasuke says pointedly.

“You really want me to leave?” Naruto leans in, too close. Sasuke can see those blue eyes too clearly.

“Have I given you a different impression?”

“Uh, yeah,” Naruto puts his hands on Sasuke’s shoulders, “You know?”

Uh, yes, Sasuke knows. But fuck that. “That was just an accident.” But his stupid body isn’t aligned with his brain, and he can’t will himself to shrug out of Naruto’s grasp.

Naruto giggles. Sasuke attempts to pull away at that, but Naruto’s hands slide upwards to cup his face. “I’ll leave after this,” He says joyfully, and leans in to kiss Sasuke.

Its chaste, just a peck, and then Naruto is climbing back into his apartment and Sasuke is wishing he could slam his head into the wall without creating another hole.

~~

Sasuke starts sleeping on his couch to avoid the hole. He keeps his bedroom door shut, and only goes inside during the early hours of the morning, when he’s confident that Naruto and Kiba are asleep. He doesn’t get so much as a glimpse of his neighbors, aside from Akamaru, who seems to have taken to napping atop Sasuke’s bed. It’s peaceful. Just like he’d hoped when he’d moved the fuck out of his father’s house.

About a month passes. Sasuke has pushed Naruto and his lame kiss out of his mind. He’s gotten a part time job. He makes sure to see Itachi at least three times a week.

Things change when Itachi’s health begins declining. Sasuke is on his way back from work when Shisui calls him, saying that Itachi collapsed at work. He drives straight to the hospital.

Itachi looks like shit, hooked up to machines and paler than usual. Shisui doesn’t seem much better, crying his eyes out.

Sasuke’s brother is going to be fine, according to some pink-haired doctor. Well, as fine as a dying man can be. The doctor informs Sasuke that Itachi will recover from this, but these sorts of visits should be expected to occur more and more frequently.

It takes Sasuke two hours to convince Shisui to go home and get some rest. When he finally does leave, Sasuke takes over the seat closest to his brother. Itachi is out cold, but Sasuke wants to stay, maybe be there when Itachi wakes. If his brother doesn’t have much time left, he needs to be there as much as possible.

He doesn’t know how long he stays there, watching Itachi’s chest rise and fall, but a gasp from the door has him jumping to his feet in alarm.

Sasuke blinks at the intruder and sits right back down again. Naruto gathers himself and moves further into the room.

“Hey, Sasuke.,” He says gently hovering over Itachi and marking something down on a clipboard. “I’m just here to take his vitals.”

Sasuke doesn’t bother to answer, but Naruto isn’t exactly good at staying quiet.

“Haven’t seen much of you lately,” He sends a weak smile Sasuke’s way. “I didn’t totally mean it when I said you’re difficult to live with, you know?”  
“I don’t care.” Sasuke tells him honestly. He keeps his eyes on his hands.

Naruto crouches down to meet his eyes. “Try a smile for me?”

“No.” Sasuke glares. Naruto doesn’t move, so he repeats it.

“C’mon, you big grump, it’s not gonna hurt you to try.”

Still, Sasuke stares down Naruto for another minute or so before he gives in. He forces a smile on his face, sure he looks like a maniac. Naruto beams in response, and that makes it easier to smile.

A second later Itachi opens his eyes.

~~

“Sasuke.” Itachi is in mother hen mode, plopping another serving of broccoli onto both Sasuke’s and Shisui’s plates and frowning.

Sasuke has carefully avoided the subject of Naruto ever since Itachi had met the blonde in the hospital. He knows Itachi can see right through him, and so Sasuke has decided that he will pretend Naruto doesn’t exist when he visits.

“My neighbor problem is fixed, so there’s nothing to say.” Sasuke insists. He may still be sleeping on his couch, but what Itachi doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

Itachi clearly doesn’t believe him, and is so incredulous at Sasuke’s lie that he doesn’t notice Shisui dump his broccoli back into the serving dish. 

“That Naruto guy I met, you really-”

“Really nothing, actually.” Sasuke will not panic. He’s above that.

“Sasuke, having a crush is perfectly normal for a boy your age,” Shisui revels in Sasuke’s pain, as always.

Itachi side-eyes his boyfriend, but nods anyways, “It would be good for you to have someone.”

“I’ll have someone, just not him.” Sasuke says, “You saw him in his nurse uniform, you don’t see him when he’s wearing his elephant pants and nickelback t-shirts.”

“He sounds perfect for you,” Shisui says dreamily. Itachi puts more broccoli onto his plate.

“Sasuke, I’d like to see you happy just once in my lifetime.” Itachi says this sadly, but Sasuke knows he’s being manipulated. Emotional blackmail. He can’t say he hasn’t thought about Naruto making him happy, stupid as the idiot is.

~~

Sasuke sits on his bed and rubs Akamaru’s belly, waiting for Naruto to show up in the living room of his and Kiba’s ugly apartment.

Kiba appears first, and Sasuke accidentally makes eye contact and so can’t ignore him.

“Hey, Sasuke,” Kiba greets him chipperly. Akamaru abandons Sasuke straight away, jumping into his owner’s arms. Kiba lets the puppy lick all over his face and coos.

“Naruto said he saw you at St. Tsunade’s the other night,” Kiba says once Akamaru has stopped assaulting him. “Everything alright?”

“Peachy.” Sasuke says curtly. Kiba gives him a funny look.

“Good to hear. Naruto is uh, in his room. I can get him for you if you want?” Kiba offers. 

“Whatever.”

Kiba leaves, Akamaru in tow, and a few moments later Naruto bounds through the hole and onto Sasuke’s bed.

“Hey, Sasuke,” Naruto says loudly, “Kiba said you wanted me?” 

“Yeah, I do.” Sasuke mutters. Naruto waits for him to continue, os Sasuke doesn’t. Technically, he’s said what he wanted to say.

Naruto frowns, “Sasuke, you’re a poor conversationalist.”

“Wow, that’s a big word for you.”

Naruto politely doesn’t point out that he has obviously been to med school and isn’t that stupid. He changes the subject instead, “How’s Itachi?”

“Good. He’s doing better than before, actually. As well as he can, anyways.” Sasuke probably has never spoken so much to Naruto. The thought makes his feelings seem ridiculous. 

Naruto pulls him into a hug, “I hope I don’t have to see him at work for awhile.”

“Yeah,” Sasuke mumbles into Naruto’s neck. 

“Anyways!” Naruto pulls back, “Why did you want to see me?”

“I want you.” Sasuke says, then cringes internally.

Naruto looks dumbfounded. “Really? Sasuke?”

Sasuke nods stiffly. Naruto grabs his face and kisses him with all the grace of a fish swimming on land. It’s mostly awful. When Sasuke pulls away, he notices that Naruto is wearing a literal flower crown. 

Catching him eyeing it, Naruto lights up and says, “I have another one, if you want to match!”

Sasuke most certainly does not want to match, thank you very much. 

(He wears the flower crown a week later, when he brings Naruto over to Itachi’s).


End file.
